"Led by the child who simply knew": (Boston Globe, on a Child's Transition)

For trans children, at just how young an age is it appropriate to begin the transitioning process?

That's just one of the questions raised by this thought-provoking story from the Boston Globe last month, on Nicole and her family. (The implied answer would seem to be, to prepare the way early, but delay anything permanent (and that includes delaying "natural" processes, like the onset of puberty) until the decision to transition is definite and irrevocable.

Jonas and Wyatt Maines were born identical twins, but from the start each had a distinct personality.

Jonas was all boy. He loved Spiderman, action figures, pirates, and swords.

Wyatt favored pink tutus and beads. At 4, he insisted on a Barbie birthday cake and had a thing for mermaids. On Halloween, Jonas was Buzz Lightyear. Wyatt wanted to be a princess; his mother compromised on a prince costume.

Once, when Wyatt appeared in a sequin shirt and his mother’s heels, his father said: “You don’t want to wear that.’’

“Yes, I do,’’ Wyatt replied.

“Dad, you might as well face it,’’ Wayne recalls Jonas saying. “You have a son and a daughter.’’

-Read the full article at The Boston Globe.

The article also highlights the importance of a supportive family and school community - and Nicole's own mental strength. There came a point in her journey when the family became involved in political lobbying. She had encountered difficulties at school over usage of the girls' bathroom, and filed court proceedings against the school district for discrimination. A Republican state legislator then introduced legislation that would have repealed Maine's protection for transgender people in public restroom.

Last spring Wayne and Nicole roamed the halls of the State House, button-holing legislators and testifying against the bill. “I’d be in more danger if I went into the boys bathroom,’’ Nicole told the lawmakers, who ultimately rejected the bill.

“She knows how to work a room,’’ her father says proudly. “She even convinced a cosponsor to vote the other way.’’

Nicole freely acknowledges the difficulties ahead - but described the political engagement as a "perk":

“Obviously my life is not going to be as easy as being gender-conforming, but there are perks like being able to get out there and do things that will benefit the [transgender] community,’’ she says. “I think everything’s going to turn out pretty well for me.’’

As an aside to gthe main themes, I was amused by the self-description of Nicole's father (note the emphasis I added):

“As a conventional dad, hunter, and former Republican, it took me longer to understand that I never had two sons,’’ he told them. “My children taught me who Nicole is and who she needed to be.’’

“T and Conversation”: Beyond Binary Pronouns

“T and Conversation”: Beyond Binary Pronouns

Religious Divides in Support for Same-Sex Marriage

It is often assumed, quite incorrectly, that the disputes over marriage equality are between those standing up for religious belief (especially Christian belief), and secularists on the side of human rights. The fallacy of this assumption is neatly illustrated by this graphic, in a post at the Public Religion Research Institute, drawing on a comprehensive analysis of data from the Pew Research Institute. This clearly shows that the disagreement is not between religion and human rights, but between the different shades of religious affiliation. Two of the three groups with the strongest support for equality are from religious groups - but not Christian religion (Jews, and other non-Christian faith groups).

Even within the Christian faith, there is clear division between denominations. White and Hispanic Catholics, and White Mainline Protestants, all show clear majority support for equality. (The research does not break out Black Catholics):

• White Catholics: 56% in favour, 39% opposed
• Hispanic Catholics: 53% in favour, 37% opposed
• White Mainline Protestants: 52% in favour, 40% opposed

The arguments from "religious freedom" against legal recognition for all marriages must surely also take into account the freedom of those people of faith that support same - sex marriage, both in other faith groups, and within their own denominations. (In

Of the groups broken out for analysis, only Black Protestants, Mormons and Evangelicals are opposed  - but, it must be said, very strongly.

Beyond Secular vs. Religious: Religious Divides in Support for Same-Sex Marriage

In 2011, majorities of most religious groups favored allowing gay and lesbian couple to marry legally, illustrating that the old narrative of battle lines between secular supporters and religious opponents no longer serves as an accurate characterization of the landscape of the same-sex marriage debate. In the general population, 2011 was also the first year on record in which supporting same-sex marriage was not a minority position. In May, several surveys (all asking slightly different versions of the same question) found that a majority of the public supported allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry. PRRI’s May survey found that 51% of Americans were in favor, and 43% were opposed.

-full analysis at   Public Religion Research Institute.

This strength of feeling from the opponents, and the rather milder feelings of supporters, must be assessed together with the evidence from several sources that opposition is dropping in degree, as well as in extent, while supporters are growing in both numbers and intensity of feeling.

The striking contrast between the views of younger people, including younger Evangelicals, and their older co-religionists shows clearly that this shift within the churches towards more widespread, and more intense, support for marriage equality will surely continue to grow:

There are large generational differences between Millennials (age 18-29) and older Americans on the issue of same-sex marriage. Sixty-four percent of Millennials favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, a rate that is more than 20 points higher than among those ages 30 and above (42%). This generational gap persists within every religious group, including more conservative religious groups. For example, 66% of Catholic Millennials favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, 15 points higher than Catholics ages 30 and above (51%). Even among white evangelical Protestants—the group most opposed to same-sex marriage—nearly 4-in-10 (39%) white evangelical Protestant Millennials favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, a rate that is more than 20 points higher than that of white evangelicals ages 30 and older (18%).

-   Public Religion Research Institute.

Related articles

• Gay / Lesbian Church Weddings for Denmark, 2012.

• Catholic vs. Catholic on Marriage Equality in Maryland (New Ways Ministry blog)
• Faith Initiative Launches to a Full House (PrideSource, Michigan)

The NOM Lie on Marriage Equality Popular Votes.

2012 is shaping up to be a big year for marriage equality, with legislative moves for approval in place in three states, and a ballot initiative  in Maine to restore it, repealing Proposition 1 of 2009. Opponents have set up ballot battles in Minnesota and North Carolina, and a possible legislative repeal in New Hampshire (although the Republicans who now control the state legislature appear to be backtracking on repeal - they know that voters are against it, and several of their caucus members have libertarian instincts which leave them opposed to removing rights already granted).

Catholics are in the thick of it, with Gov Chris Christie (NJ) and bishops predictably against, and Governors O'Malley (Maryland) and Gregoire (Washington) declaring in favour, and actively rallying support.  I'm not going to get into any detail on any of these: I'll leave that to the extensive commentary available from any number of American news sites and blogs. However, there is one regular claim made by the opponents of marriage, and especially by the NOM (supported primarily by Catholic money and staff) that is simply, demonstrably untrue - and I cannot understand why the Americans have not vigorously pointed this out :

"Thirty-one states have voted on the definition of marriage and every one voted to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman," Brian Brown, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, said in a statement. "Not only will we mount a successful referendum campaign, we will hold every Washington legislator accountable for his or her vote."

Read more here: Tri-city Herald

Not so fast, Mr Brown. In 2oo6, exactly this was put to voters in Arizona, as Proposition 107:

To preserve and protect marriage in this state, only a union between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage by this state or its political subdivisions and no legal status for unmarried persons shall be created or recognized by this state or its political subdivisions that is similar to that of marriage.

The proposition went down, 48% to 52%.

The reason for the failure was probably overreach, in trying to eliminate not only full marriage equality, but also any recognition for  other forms of union. A modified proposition to ban only full marriage passed, two years later. So, yes. Arizona has voted to ban same-sex marriage, but it is not true that every ballot proposal against equality has passed.  Brian Brown's bluster notwithstanding, note that prejudice can be defeated at the ballot box, as it was in Arizona in 2006. Although not a vote on full equality but on "near-marriage", NOM also lost in Washington, in a 20o9 referendum that promised everything but the name.

Also worth noting is that his promise to mount a successful campaign, and hold legislators "accountable", is an empty one. NOM, and the other organisations actively opposing equality, are running out of money. Unlike 2008, when they could channel all their resources on California, or 2009, when they spent it all in Maine and Washington, this year they are promising to spend in at least six states. The bulk of their funding comes from a handful of (anonymous) large, out-of-state donors, which this year will be thinly spread.  Financial support for equality typically includes a much higher proportion of small, local donors.

NOM and the like should prepare for more defeats this year, at the ballot box, and in state legislatures.

Related articles

• Washington Poised for Marriage Equality (mlp.org)
• Editorial: Moving Ahead on Marriage Equality (nytimes.com)
• Governors O'Malley And Gregoire Criticize Christie For Advocating A Popular Vote On Marriage Equality (thinkprogress.org)
• Maine poised for 2nd public vote on gay marriage (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• New Hampshire Marriage Equality Repeal Vote Delayed Until at Least February (towleroad.com)

Greg Louganis, Olympic gold medalist

b. January 29, 1960

“When you're a kid growing up, and you think you're gay, you're often teased. But sports can be great for building self-esteem.”

The winner of five Olympic medals, Greg Louganis is the world’s most successful diver and among the most high-profile openly gay athletes.

Raised in San Diego, Louganis scored a perfect 10 in the Junior Olympics in 1971. In 1976, he won an Olympic silver in Montreal.

Louganis graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1983. At the World Championships the following year, Louganis became the first diver to score a perfect 10 at an international meet.

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Louganis won two gold medals—one each in the springboard and platform events—and was the first to exceed 700 points in the two competitions. For these achievements he received the Sullivan Award, which honors America’s best amateur athlete.

During the springboard qualifying rounds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Louganis misjudged a jump and struck his head on the diving board. Despite suffering a concussion, he continued diving and won two gold medals. He became the first male diver to win double golds in consecutive Olympics.

In 1993, Louganis starred as a chorus boy who dies of AIDS in the Off Broadway play “Jeffrey.” He came out and disclosed his HIV-positive status at the 1994 Gay Games in New York.

Louganis’s best-selling autobiography, “Breaking the Surface” (1995), recounts his experiences as an openly gay athlete. 

Related articles

• Greg Louganis hails emergence of British diving's Jack Laugher and Tom Daley (Telegraph)
• Greg Louganis to Lead Swim for Equality (Passport Magazine)
• 2 March: Matthew Mitcham, Olympic Diver (Its a Queer World)
• Let's get Greg Louganis on “Dancing With the Stars” (Greg in Hollywood)

Angela Davis, Civil Rights Activist

b. January 26, 1944

Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionary's life. When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime.

A revolutionary of unequivocal prowess, Angela Davis has devoted her life to combating racism and sexism. Despite acrimonious attempts by the U.S. government to suppress her political influence, Davis has never wavered in her commitment towards global social justice.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1944, Davis grew up under the oppression of Jim Crow laws. Her family lived in an integrated neighborhood plagued by racial conflict. Bombings by the Ku Klux Klan were so common that the neighborhood was called "Dynamite Hill." From an early age, Davis encountered political activism. Her mother was a civil rights campaigner and a member of the NAACP.

Davis was a precocious child who possessed an acute awareness of her social status as an African-American woman. By the age of fourteen, she had aligned herself with socialist and communist politics, joining the communist youth organization, Advance.

In 1962, Davis landed a full scholarship to Brandeis University, where she studied French and philosophy. In 1969, after receiving her master's degree from the University of California, San Diego and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany, Davis began teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA terminated her position based on her involvement in the Communist Party USA. The university eventually reinstated her professorship following enormous pressure from national and international supporters.

In 1970, Davis was charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, and homicide after a shotgun registered in her name was used in a courthouse hostage shooting linked to the Black Panther Party. Fearing for her life, Davis went underground, becoming the third woman on the FBI's Most Wanted List. The Bureau eventually captured her. She was brought to trial in one of the most publicized criminal hearings of the century. In 1972, an all-white jury found Davis not guilty on all charges.

Davis writes and lectures on gender and race issues and remains on the faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is a co-founder of Critical Resistance, a national grass-roots organization addressing reform of the "prison-industrial complex."

Bibliography
“Articles about and by Angela Davis.” The New York Times Archives. July 3, 2007
“Interview with Angela Davis.” PBS: Frontline. July 3, 2007
Aptheker, Bettina. The Morning Breaks: The Trial of Angela Davis. Cornell University Press, 1999
James, Joy. The Angela Y. Davis Reader. Blackwell Publishing Limited. 1998
Selected Works
Abolition Democracy: Beyond Prisons, Torture, and Empire (2005)
Angela Davis: An Autobiography (1974)
Are Prisons Obsolete? (2003)
Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday (1999)
Frame Up: The Opening Defense Statement Made (1972)
If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance (1971)
Violence Against Women and the Ongoing Challenge to Racism (1985)
Women, Culture and Politics (1989)
Women, Race and Class (1981)

Ellen DeGeneres

b. January 26, 1958

Popular comedian Ellen DeGeneres was the first openly gay actor to portray a gay character on a leading primetime television program.

"For me, it's that I contributed . . . that I'm on this planet doing some good and making people happy. That's to me the most important thing, that my hour of television is positive and upbeat and an antidote for all the negative stuff going on in life."

In April 1997, Ellen DeGeneres, the star of her own popular sitcom, "Ellen," took a step that was a turning point in her personal life and her career: she outed herself and her character on primetime television. Her coming out led to a storm of media attention, including her photo on the cover of Time Magazine with the tag, "Yep, I'm gay." There was also criticism that the show was now "too gay." For a time after her public declaration, her career suffered from backlash.

DeGeneres returned to the national spotlight when she was chosen to host the Emmy Awards only a few weeks after the September 11 attacks in 2001. At the ceremony she quipped, "We're told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the Taliban more than a gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?" She was praised for her poise and decorum in emceeing the awards show.

Ellen DeGeneres attended the University of New Orleans and worked at a variety of jobs before she entered stand-up comedy. Her selection by cable channel Showtime as The Funniest Person in America led to opportunities to appear on television. During her first appearance on The Tonight Show, DeGeneres was the first female commedian ever invited to sit on the sofa and visit with Johnny Carson. She has been labeled a "female Seinfeld" for her quirky observational humor.

In 2003 she launched her daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It won 15 Emmy Awards and is the first talk show to win the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show for its first three seasons.

In 2005 DeGeneres was again selected to host the Emmy Awards, this time just three weeks after Hurricane Katrina. She joked, "You know me, any excuse to put on a dress."

Bibliography:

• Tracy, Kathleen. Ellen: The Real Story of Ellen DeGeneres, Pinnacle Paperbacks, 2005.
  
• Yahoo! Movies

Selected works by Ellen DeGeneres:

• Here and Now, 2003. (DVD)
  
• My Point... And I Do Have One. Bantam, 1995.
  
• The Funny Thing Is . . . Simon & Schuster, 2003.